ARGONAUT MANUFACTURING SERVICES - Key Persons
Before joining Telegraph Hill Partners, Alex worked at Genzyme Corporation in the Oncology / Multiple Sclerosis Business Development Group, where he sourced, evaluated, and executed strategic M&A and licensing biopharma transactions. Prior to Genzyme, he worked as a portfolio manager at BlueMountain Capital Management, and as an investment banking analyst at Bank of America Securities. LinkedIn
Job Titles:
- Operational Leader
- SVP / GM Biopharma Services
Chris Duffy is a proven Operational leader with a wealth of experience spanning a 30-year career in biopharmaceutical Operations and Product Development, including 17 years in the contract manufacturing industry. Chris comes to Argonaut from Ajinomoto Althea where he was SVP of Operations and led the Drug Product Manufacturing business unit. He had responsibility for all aspects of tech transfer and production of nine commercial products and hundreds of clinical drug products. Previous to that, Chris was with The Immune Response Corp for 12 years where he was involved in the development and manufacture of the company's HIV and cancer therapeutic vaccines. Chris has a proven track record as a successful Operator and Executive Manager of business units in the contract manufacturing environment. Chris loves spending time on his boat fishing for anything that swims. When on land, he can be found hiking the scenic trails of San Diego with his family.
Gary has worked in the healthcare and medical device industry since 1981, including thirteen years as a senior executive in three private equity backed ventures. In 2005, Gary joined THP's portfolio company Interface Catheter Solutions as President, CEO. He led the strategic growth into contract manufacturing resulting in its acquisition by NDC/Confluent Medical in 2015. Most recently, Gary was President of Trelyst, a subsidiary of NuSil Technology LLC, and is currently a Venture Partner for Telegraph Hill Partners.
Gayle Arnold is a financial executive with over 30 years of diversified experience including treasury, mergers and acquisitions and systems conversions and integration. She has extensive knowledge of manufacturing and medical device industries and previously served as CFO for Interface Catheter Solutions and I-Flow Corporation. Prior to Gayle's industry experience, she was a manager at the Big 4 accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche. When not at work, Gayle enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, and riding her horse.
Job Titles:
- SVP, Commercial Operations
Jon Lenihan brings a vast amount of experience in commercial and technical leadership to Argonaut. Prior to joining Argonaut, Jon spent 2.5 years at Emergent BioSolutions, where he most recently served as the Interim Business Unit Head for the biologics CDMO business, which was focused on providing end-to-end development and manufacturing services for biopharma clients. During that time, he also served as Senior Director and Head of Sales and Business Development, leading an international business development team. Before joining Emergent, Jon spent 7 years in business development roles at Vetter Pharma and was part of the team responsible for launching Vetter's first US manufacturing facility for biologic drug product manufacturing. In this role, Jon supported over 50 clinical and commercial manufacturing projects for both large pharma and small biotech clients. Jon has also held commercial and technical leadership roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific and Abcam. Jon graduated from Xavier University with a bachelor's degree in Biology and holds an MBA and an MS in Finance from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.
Jon lives in Cincinnati, OH with his wife and twin sons. He enjoys traveling with his family and tackling an endless list of home improvement projects on their 1860's home.
With over 30 years of experience in lyophilization technologies, microchannel diagnostic cartridge design, and the founder of Lyogen LLC, Mark Nowakowski has joined the Argonaut team. Mark's background is in molecular diagnostics and immunodiagnostics. He previously worked at Hybritech Incorporated, Biosite Diagnostics, FMC BioProducts, and Mesa Biotech with responsibilities including product design and manufacturing automation. When not conceiving novel cryodessication techniques, Mark can be found lacing up his running shoes and logging some miles.
Before joining Telegraph Hill Partners, Paul Grossman was Head of Strategy and Corporate Development for Life Technologies, holding a similar position at Invitrogen Corporation prior to the merger with Applied Biosystems. Paul has held a variety of leadership and executive roles in R&D, Legal and Corporate Development teams, including spearheading the acquisition or divestment of more than 25 businesses
With 34 years of life sciences experience in senior management, R&D, operations, and quality, Rick was most recently the CEO of Althea Technologies Inc. Prior to Althea Technologies he was the senior director of operations at The Immune Response Corporation. Rick has significant experience in cGMP manufacturing, regulatory affairs, scale up, operational protocols, and team management. He also worked at Hybritech as a quality control analyst, research associate, and laboratory supervisor.
Job Titles:
- SVP / GM Diagnostics & Life Sciences
Stacy Sutton brings 20+ years of experience in research, diagnostics and biopharmaceuticals to her role as SVP/GM Diagnostics & Life Sciences. Her entire career has been spent in contract testing and manufacturing services. She has experience working for both start-up and large multinational companies. Stacy held various roles of increasing responsibility through her tenure at Ajinomoto Bio-Pharm Services contributing in several areas to develop a solid foundation in Development, Technology, Manufacturing, Engineering, Facilities, and Quality Assurance. She headed cross-functional teams for establishment of new capabilities, equipment and facilities, including integration of an acquired technology through market launch. Stacy received her B.A in Animal Physiology from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Stacy is a flourishing foodie who enjoys spending time with her husband and two energetic dogs.
Job Titles:
- Vice President Quality and Regulatory Affairs
Steve Folio has over 25 years of successful leadership and experience in drug product, drug substance, medical device, and combination product development, testing and manufacturing. At Argonaut Manufacturing Services, he is responsible for Quality and Regulatory Affairs.
Steve started at the company in September of 2021 as the Sr. Director of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs, Drug Products where he was responsible for all aspects of drug product quality. Prior to joining Argonaut, his previous role was Sr. Director and Head of Quality at Ajinomoto BioPharma Services (formerly Althea) where he spent 16 years leading teams to successfully commercialize over twenty drug and combination products in multiple global markets. In addition, he led the commissioning and validation efforts for multiple newly built commercial manufacturing and laboratory facilities. He previously served in various roles of increasing responsibility at Catalent Pharma Solutions, Cardinal Health and Matrix Pharmaceuticals and he also served as a consultant for the BioPharma industry. Steve is a veteran of the United States Navy where he served as a Metrologist and Electronics Technician on a forward deployed surface warfare ship.
Steve was awarded a degree in Liberal Arts with a professional focus in electronics and technology while serving in the US Navy with course work completed at Northwestern University, University of Oklahoma, Old Dominion University, US Navy Campus, Ashland University and the University of Phoenix. In his off time he enjoys hiking, biking and golf.
With 28 years of management experience in operations, supply chain and general management, Wayne Woodard's primary focus (in three different industries) has been on building global operations capabilities with particular emphasis on working with external manufacturing services companies. Wayne most recently worked at Thermo Fisher/Life Technologies through its Ion Torrent acquisition. He previously worked at Affymetrix, Electroglas and Ridge Technologies. Wayne began his career in manufacturing at Sun Microsystems. Wayne focuses intensely on execution and detail, which is why he also bottles his own wine.